President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, on Tuesday pledged to heal divisions within the legal profession and unite members of the association as she prepares to assume office at the end of August.

Speaking with Correspondents after paying a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Badejo-Okusanya said her immediate priority was to engage members and stakeholders across the Bar with a view to fostering reconciliation, addressing grievances and strengthening institutional cohesion.

She assured members that her administration would be inclusive and committed to carrying every segment of the association along.

“My swearing-in is not until the end of August. In the meantime, I continue to reach out to members, to stakeholders, so that we can work together to improve things, to heal the hurt anyone has, and to just continue to ensure that we do things to make sure that the NBA continues to fulfill its role to society,” she said.

The NBA president-elect said she would spare no effort in restoring confidence and ensuring the association remained united and effective in discharging its responsibilities to the legal profession and the wider society.

“Everything that needs to be done, I can assure members and the public that I will do. We’ll make sure that we unite ourselves. We’ll make sure that we put our house in order,” she added.

On her meeting with President Tinubu, Badejo-Okusanya disclosed that the President congratulated her on her historic election and expressed interest in the association’s electoral process, particularly the use of technology and electronic voting.

She said both sides discussed the challenges encountered during the NBA’s electronic voting process and explored ways of improving future elections through stronger technological systems and continuous reforms.

“He congratulated me on the victory. We talked about the challenges of electronic voting and technology, and we spoke about the ways in which we can continue to improve on our processes. It was very encouraging,” she said.

Badejo-Okusanya recently made history as the first woman to be elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association.

She is expected to be formally sworn into office at the association’s Annual General Conference at the end of August.